1960s Modern Red Abstract with Two Miniature Female Figures Oil Painting by Gene Hatfield, Framed

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Compelling red abstract with two tiny female figures by Arkansas artist Gene Hatfield (American, 1925-2017). The piece consists of a … Read more Compelling red abstract with two tiny female figures by Arkansas artist Gene Hatfield (American, 1925-2017). The piece consists of a textural red abstract plain that is swirled with beige, which contrasts from the two intricately detailed miniature female nudes that pose floating in the upper left corner and the lower center right quadrant.

Signed "G. Hatfield" lower right.
Displayed in a giltwood window box frame with linen fillet. New York Frame Gallery label on verso
Image size: 8"H x 6"W.



Gene Hatfield was a renowned artist and teacher in Conway, Arkansas, working closely with the Faulkner County community and the University of Central Arkansas. He was generous with his time, wisdom, and works of art - sharing boundlessly with those around him.

From growing up poor in Mount Vernon, to serving in the US Army, to his years painting on location in France, Gene saw the world around him as a blank canvas. Everything became a tool for creating beauty to share with the world.

After the war, Gene majored in Speech and English and minored in Art at Arkansas State Teachers College. After earning a BSE in 1948, he went to Colorado State College of Education in Greeley, CO to earn a Masters in Art Education. He then returned to Conway to teach Art at ASTC, which became the University of Central Arkansas. Spanning both the art and theatre departments, Gene taught Drawing, Painting, Sculpture, Crafts, Design, Art History, Art Appreciation, and Stagecraft at UCA until he retired in 1985. Gene's students were affected by his predilection for resourceful, inventive art. His pupils learned to treat each piece like a sleeping giant, a vessel of untapped potential ready to be brought to life.
After serving overseas in World War II and marrying Nicole Wable, Gene spent many years traveling in France. During his many trips, Gene would paint watercolors on location - documenting everything from the rural towns to the large castles and the people who inhabited them. His documentation of Post-War France is not only beautiful and moving, it is also prolific. Covering scenes of everyday life from across the country, Gene's work tells the real story of the people and places of the time.

As a university instructor of Art Appreciation, Hatfield was continually studying the art movements of the times, and happily worked in styles including impressionism, surrealism, cubism, and abstract expressionism. He was comfortable working in various media and styles and incorporating aspects of the contemporary movements of his time into his art. But, as a nonconformist at heart, he was continually exploring on his own, beyond the limits of any particular movement. His lifelong passion was simply to make art, and his only stated regret at the end of his life, despite the impressive number of his creations, was that he "wished he had created more art". He was reassured by those around him that he had done quite well in that category. See less